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BlogsPublications | November 2, 2021
1 minute read

COA Opinion: Offense dismissed under plea agreement cannot be considered in calculating minimum sentencing requirements

In People v. Gray, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for resentencing the defendant on his conviction for one count of possession with intent to deliver less than 50 grams of cocaine. The Court held that the trial court had erred in calculating the minimum sentencing requirements because it had assessed the defendant 50 points under offense variable 15, which requires "possession with intent ' to deliver ' 50 or more grams but less than 450 grams."

In Gray, the police found .6 grams of cocaine on the defendant during a routine traffic stop. After searching the defendant's motel room, the police found an additional 64 grams of cocaine. The defendant then pled guilty to the above offense and two others in exchange for the dismissal of certain charges, which included possession with intent to deliver at least 50 but less than 450 grams of cocaine. The Court of Appeals found that the "sentencing offense" was for the possession of cocaine in the car and that the court could not consider the cocaine in the hotel room because that offense had been dismissed under the plea agreement. Because of this the Court found that, for sentencing purposes, the defendant did not possess more than 50 grams of cocaine and, therefore, the trial court erred when it applied offense variable 15.